curtains or blinds

[lfp2n]

What does everyone have in their DD/DS rooms? DD is waking up earlier and earlier and I think its the light. MIL says we have to get curtains so that we can make the room dark for naps, but she seems to nap OK in the light in the day so maybe blinds would be better, curtains seem hard to find, hang etc. I just can't seem to decide- help.

Lucy and DD 3/27/03

[Marisa6826]

i have drapes, but they're not dark enough.

Lowes had light blocking blinds that aren't too crazy expensive ($40?). They will cut them to the width you need. What's nice about them is that you can pull them all the way up when the baby isn't sleeping and they don't obscure the window.

It's on my ever-growing list of stuff to pick up for the house...sigh...


Edited to say the ones at Lowes aren't really blinds. They're those honeycombed accordian fabric ones.

-m

[DDowning]

Edited to correct a typo...

I have wood shutters. When closed, they block out a tremendous amount of light and the room is pretty dark. Granted they're not cheap and its not for every house style (mine is spanish-colonial) but the safety feature of not having to worry about hanging cords or loose fabric puts me at ease.

[ddmarsh]

Smith and Noble makes light-blocking shades in some really cute fabrics. It is actually something on my to-do list as well to get one up in DD's room.

[C99]

I currently have blackout curtains up in the windows, but just put in an order with my mom (she runs a custom blinds/curtains franchise) for blackout cellular shades.

[kransden]

I am too paranoid to put up blinds in dd's room. You can't strangle on room darkening shades. :) DD is a BIG climber. Of course millions of other children all over the world have blinds in their room and have survived.

Karin and Katie 10/24/02

[hez]

We actually splurged and bought the honeycomb type shade/blind/whatever-you-call-it without strings. It stays where you put it, up or down or somewhere in between, which is pretty cool. DS seems to be getting the best of our investments lately-- if we ever sell our house it'll be clear where our priorities have been focused!

[mom2kandj]

DD has 2" wood blinds on her windows(cord is short and has individual ends so that there is no "loop" on the ends) and DS has the same blinds as well as a blackout shade that is mounted in the cornice above the window. We like the look of the white wood blinds, but need the blackout shade for longer naps. Thank goodness we could hide the shade in the topper! :)


Rose
mom 2 Katie 12/02/00
& Jack 04/16/02

[lmariana]

We have a roman shade to help with blocking out the light and a decorative sheer voile curtain on top of that. Gabriel's room is the only one in whole house with a roman shade though. I have curtains everywhere else. :)

Mariana
Mother of Gabriel, 08/14/2003

[June]

I have wood blinds in DD's room. She, too, is waking up earlier with the sunrise. If I had it to do again. I would go with something that blocks the light better.

[lfp2n]

Thanks for your replies, we've been in the house since July and all the other windows are still bare, seems like we don't have as much time to do house stuff as we thought!

Am I dumb or is it an English thing I'm having trouble understanding all the options-
so drapes=curtains
blinds=venetian blinds
what are shades, cellular-honeycomb or roman are they what are called roller blinds in England like a piece of fabric on a roll?,

TIA

Lucy

[HoneymoonBaby]

We have a simple pull down shade and sheer curtains. When the shade is down, it blocks pretty much all light from entering the room. It's also cheap and easy to clean (just wipe it off), and looks fine down or up and out of the way.

[HoneymoonBaby]

They're like roller blinds. Ours are vinyl, though. Not as cheesy as they sound, and very practical.

[lisams]

Both and then some :) We have curtains with a black out lining, blinds, and a pull down shade. I don't know why it took all of those to get DD's room dark, but it does help (plus it keeps her room much cooler in the hot months).

Lisa

[jamsmu]

Very practical and very inexpensive. They also vary on the amount of light they let through. We have a shade that blocks almost all of the light in DS' room. Home Depot cut it down to size. To make it look cute, dh hung curtains from pbk over the window, too, that are pulled back with hold-backs. That way, its not just a plain shade.

[HGraceMom]

we have the same... and only on a window 3x4!!! DD's room faces the street, on a corner & the school buses starting & stopping at the corner are what wake her like clockwork - all the layers help keep out the noise as well as the light (I hope!)

[C99]

I don't think drapes and curtains are the same thing -- or at least they aren't in the MSE line at K-Mart. Drapes are heavy, usually have liners and are hung via drapery hooks. Curtains can just be a simple fabric piece hung from a rod via a rod-pocket, ties or tabs. Blinds are mini-blinds. Shades are probably similar to what is a roller blind in England -- piece of fabric or vinyl on a roll. Cellular shades are a type of shade; Honeycomb is a brand name for cellular shades. Roman shades are a piece of fabric that is hung from the top of the frame and is connected up the back with string -- you can pull one end and move the shade up and down. HTH

[Melanie]

wood blinds with a shade I pull down over them at night.

[JLiebCamm]

I don't know how much privacy you need around your windows. In our bedroom we have sheer curtains for the day with heavier drapes over them that are pulled back to let light in but can be closed to block out light. This is just a nice alternative to blinds.